Um, I Think It's Time for a Thread on WikiLeaks

Wonder what WikiLeaks has on Aquafina?

Oops, hahaa wrong thread. Sorry!

This is a pretty good piece on the Tsvangirai mess, also very illuminating (for me, anyway) about what's been going on in Zimbabwe recently:

In this particular case, the argument that (A) because the cable hurts Tsvangirai and helps Mugabe, (B) Wikileaks is therefore bad for democracy, and therefore (C) bad for Zimbabweans, is a set of propositions linked together by a lot of un-argued claims. For example, you’d never guess from reading Albon or Richardson that it’s not at all clear that Tsvangirai would win a free and fair election, were one to be held, and particularly unlikely to mount a real challenge in the kind that actually will be held.

http://zunguzungu.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/wikileaks-in-zimbabwe-and-in-the-media/

That whole situation is so fucked up, but really it's hard to see how wikileaks could have any effect on dictatorships other than marginally strengthening the dictator's position. You've got (a) a dictator who's so evil that anything leaked on her/him is merely very much in character and (b) a democratic freedom movement that has everything to lose by copping the wrong leak at the wrong time. Result is a dictator whose position doesn't change at all and an opposition that looks flaky and hypocritical.

The fact in Zimbabwe is that Tsvangirai has always faced an uphill battle because, in addition to all the Zanu-PF propaganda and fear-mongering and such, Mugabe is still a hero to many of the people purely because of his role 30 years ago in defeating the colonials. They're the same people who genuinely believe the British are destroying Zim with sanctions. I don't really see what significant damage wikileaks could do in this case.

Prepared to be proved wrong, of course.

That whole situation is so fucked up, but really it's hard to see how wikileaks could have any effect on dictatorships other than marginally strengthening the dictator's position.

i hear the government in belarus is quaking in its boots over the next leak

Breaking news:
Tonight at 8pm GMT the Guardian will release confidential documents relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

wonder if this means they've patched things up

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12263095

I'm guessing it's this?

Not wikileaks, afaik?

Yeah, that's why I was wondering. Just seemed odd, the timing.

Bill Keller says things:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/magazine/30Wikileaks-t.html

"bollocks" in the NYT was the main surprise for me in that article

Ok, seriously... this is truly bizarre.

The records on Assange's alleged rape case have 'wiki'-leaked...

Xeroxed condoms? Police not being able to get a dna-sample from it? o_O

Saving the condoms seems suspect. I mean wasn't the original story that W and A only decided to go to the policy weeks/days later after comparing stories? Did they actually save the condoms for all that time?

kept 'em in their hope chests

interesting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/us/politics/12hackers.html?_r=2&hp

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/02/11/campaigns/index.html

Yeah I've been tracking that for the past few days. Shady as hell all around. Hoglund e-mails have been released now as well.

good links, hope this particular element of the story gets more play

We might see more tomorrow depending. This starting to break wider on a Friday afternoon wasn't good for arcs (plus, let's face it, Egypt was always going to get more attention).

A good summary of this nonsense here:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/the-ridiculous-plan-to-attack-wikileaks.ars

just ran into this attack story! shiiit

http://www.salon.com/about/inside_salon/2011/02/11/threats_against_glenn_greenwald_wikileaks/

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/02/14/palantir_wikileaks

wild stuff

Starting to get a little more attention:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/14/AR2011021406281.html

Big ol' updates:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/anonymous-speaks-the-inside-story-of-the-hbgary-hack.ars

byeeeeeee

ticket to guantanamo via stocholm pls

inevitable, really

fuck paypal too

huh?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/24/bradley-manning-paypal-suspended_n_827736.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuYLHCvM-7s

He almost makes it sound like the C1A might have considered doing something like this before! Shocked, I tell you!

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2011/03/01/assange-goes-off-deep-end-blaming-jews-and-guardian-in-private-eye/

bit quiet here, no theories abt cia mind control drugs in julian's milkshake?

did stanm just googleproof cia?

loooool

Sometimes it takes nutty ppl to do incredible world-changing things.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/mar/02/spielberg-assange-wikileaks-guardian

Mittens88

If they cast Charlie Sheen as Assange, I'd be the first in line to buy a ticket.

this thread fails my masculinity test

http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2011/03/pilger-assange-sweden

'julian assange is a modern-day tom paine'

lol Julian Assange is a fucking asshole
http://www.good.is/post/video-the-hilarious-true-story-of-julian-assange-horrible-houseguest/

relevant!

curious what you radical transparency guys think of the FOIA-Michegan situation going on

Michigan*

As I mentioned on the U.S. Politics thread, I'm a media adviser at a public university in Florida, which boasts one of the most liberal sunshine laws in the country. We routinely remind student reporters trying to get relevant information that university emails are part of the public record, and we can access them by FOIA if necessary. I know enough to keep private business off university email.

I know nothing about Alaska's public access laws, but it explains why Sarah Palin relied on her Yahoo account for her campaigning – she knows the score.

assange killin it on reykjavik dancefloor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNqd4hW98sQ

Fools. You think he is dancing. Clearly, these are highly coded movements he is using to signal a possible source of classified government intelligence, who I am assuming is signaling back with a glow stick.

psychicwhoosh 3 hours ago

curious what you radical transparency guys think of the FOIA-Michegan situation going on

― Mordy, Thursday, March 31, 2011 8:59 AM (Yesterday)

it's pretty stupid, tbh. the only reason they're possibly subject to FOIA, as i understand it, is because the correspondence in question took place on university (state) email rather than personal email. i do not think publicly-employed academics/university professors should be accountable to taxpayers the same way elected officials are; adademic freedom is at stake here it seems and hopefully a judge will block the request, though i'm not terribly familiar with the law as it applies to this case nor have i been following it that closely

On to Guantanamo.

Oh boy. Another trove!

Oh, I thought Assange had been put on a plane - xpost

The files were shared with the Guardian and US National Public Radio by the New York Times, which says it did not obtain them from WikiLeaks.

ha i have one of these http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/25/guantanamo-files-casio-wristwatch-alqaida